https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quJDKF9aURo
Knowing the Emmys had just committed one of the cardinal sins in pop-culture coverage, Andy Samberg dryly stated, “Welcome back to the spoiler awards.”
In the same vein of the obligatory tribute videos usually meant to honor those who have recently died, the Emmys decided that the same approach would work when remembering the bevy of TV programs that have closed their doors in the past year. It turned out to be a really bad idea. The montage, possibly the most spoiler-ific segment in awards-show history, revealed some of the final moments of Boardwalk Empire, Sons of Anarchy, The Newsroom, Nurse Jackie, and more.
Sure, there were some moments from non-episodic shows like The Late Show with David Letterman and The Colbert Report that fit perfectly fine within the fabric of the segment, but had I not already watched the final episode of Boardwalk Empire, I would have been incredibly upset with the choice of footage that not only showed the fate of lead character Nucky Thompson, but also the reveal of another character’s true identity which tied together a series-long narrative. It’s quite mind-boggling that the producers of the Emmys didn’t take a second look at the piece, considering the entire point of the awards show is to revere and respect the establishment of television. Giving away the ending of several programs goes against that objective.
